This is the sixth installment of a series on stylish gifts chosen by Kyoto's fashionable people. Murase Ayako, head of the special edition editorial department at the Kansai-based publisher Keihanshin L Magazine, is in charge of managing the special edition editorial department. In addition to overseeing the special edition editorial department, she also edits books. Tomoka Shibasaki's essay "I Don't Know, But It's My Diary" is scheduled for release in late August. Ayako Murase, a book editor, often brings gifts when meeting with authors and art directors. Murase's recommendation is the Fukiyose sweets from Giboshi, a long-established kelp specialty store. "When meeting someone for the first time, I don't know if they like sweets or not, so I bring them Fukiyose sweets. They can be enjoyed with tea or alcohol, so men also appreciate them. I often buy the pre-packaged ones for myself. Because they're not deep-fried, they have a nice aftertaste, and I often end up eating too many."

Giboshi was founded in 1868 and is a kelp specialty store that handles grated kelp, dashi kelp, and crafted kelp. When it first opened, it sold konwata and other snacks to go with sake as a kelp and appetizer, and it seems that "Fukiyose" was created as one of those items. Inside the tin, decorated with ukiyo-e artist Ando Hiroshige's "Yodo River, Famous Places of Kyoto," are more than 20 different flavors, including rice crackers, bean sweets, and kelp. Each one is carefully crafted, with the quality and deliciousness of a long-established store, such as broad beans finished in curry or sea urchin flavor, rice crackers made from pressed and baked shrimp, and fried kelp.



"Giboshi"
Yanagi no Baba-dori Shijoagaru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City
075-221-2824
Business hours: 9:00-17:30
Closed Sundays and public holidays
http://giboshi.kyoto-shijo.or.jp